How To Clean Your Wooden Fences and Decking

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APP Expert / Wednesday June 21, 2023

Introduction

Today, we’re helping you to keep your yard looking great with a step-by-step guide on how to clean wooden fences and decking. Whether or not you have a power washer, this chore can easily be accomplished in just a few hours on a nice, sunny day.

What You’ll Need to Clean Your Fences and Deck

First, let’s go over some of the materials you’ll want to have handy while you’re cleaning. Not all of these items are necessary. Pick based on your needs!

No matter what, you should have:

• Rubber gloves
  
• At least one bucket with warm water for mixing the cleaning solution
  
• A garden hose with a spray nozzle or a pressure washer
  
• A nylon or plastic bristle scrubbing brush
  
• A large sponge or, optionally, a paintbrush
  
• A scraper
  
• Cleaning solution: dish soap is a cheap and effective option, but you can use other cleaners like an outdoor wood cleaner, oxygen bleach, or a borax solution
  
• A tarp to temporarily protect any plants from damage
  
• A broom and a deck brush (for deck cleaning)

Dealing with algae, mold, or mildew? You may additionally need:

• Distilled vinegar – you’ll be diluting this in equal parts with water
  
• Optionally, a commercial deck cleaner, borax, or oxygen-based bleach like OxyClean
  
• Optionally, 100-grit sandpaper

The Prep Work

Now, before you begin, you’ll want to pick a warm (50 °F or above), dry day to do your cleaning. Don’t bother starting if rain is in the forecast, especially if you’re trying to get rid of mold, algae, or mildew, or if you’re prepping for staining or painting. Cold, humid, or wet conditions will slow down the drying process too much, causing you trouble later. Just delay until you’ve got a few days of nice weather in the forecast.

When preparing your cleaning solution, be sure to follow the instructions on the label before you use them. Don’t under-dilute them and never combine cleaning products unless explicitly directed to do so by the manufacturer. This is especially important for any harsh cleaning chemicals you may use. Don’t ignore warnings!

You’ll also want to lay tarps down to protect your garden and lawn before you begin. You don’t need to cover everything, just spots that are most likely to get hit by your cleaning solution or water spray. Many cleaning solutions are harmful to plants! Check the label on whatever you decide to use before you use it.

Be sure to pick those tarps up when you’re done, as well.

A Quick Note About Abrasives and Power Washers

If your deck or fences are painted, stained, or sealed, keep in mind that abrasive cleaning methods like power washers and wire brushes can and will damage and remove anything you’ve applied. If you’re trying to get rid of old paint, these methods are a great way to do it, but if you’re trying to keep it intact, stick with gentler cleaning methods first.

How To Clean Your Wooden Deck or Fence without a Power Washer

Now that you’re thoroughly prepped, it’s time to clean! First, we’ll go over cleaning by hand.

• Start by getting rid of surface dirt and debris. For your deck, this means starting with a sweep. For your fence, you’ll want to bust out a plastic (or metal) bristle brush to scrub any caked-on dirt.
  
• Once that first layer of grime is loosened up, spray your deck or fence down with your garden hose. Use a higher pressure nozzle on it for a more effective rinse.
  
• Time to apply your cleaning solution! Apply a solution of cleaner and water (per your cleaner’s instructions) directly onto stains with a sponge or paintbrush. Dish soap and warm water should be sufficient for most stains, but you can use other cleaners, as well. Oxygen bleach powder, in particular, is good at getting rid of organic stains.
  
• Once all cleaning solution is applied, start scrubbing particularly stubborn stains with a damp scrubbing brush.
  
• Rinse away all soap residue with your garden hose and allow your deck or fence to dry. If you’re facing mold, mildew, or algae, keep reading this article to find out how to deal with those!

How To Clean Your Wooden Deck or Fence with a Power Washer

Thankfully, cleaning your deck or fence with a power washer is incredibly easy. Just be sure you’re following proper safety precautions. For a full safety guide for pressure washer use, check out the one on our blog. We’ll go over the basics here.

• If you’re cleaning your deck, start by moving any loose items like decorations, planters, or furniture out of the way. The pressure from the washer can potentially damage those items or send them flying. You’ll also want to cover or move any electrical components or light fixtures and make sure any young children or pets are inside or well out of the way.
  
• Wear appropriate safety gear when using a power washer. That includes sturdy shoes, long pants and sleeves, gloves, potentially protective eyewear, and a mask.
  
• Do some pre-cleaning by applying a cleaning solution (dish soap and water or oxygen bleach powder and water are fine here!) to your deck with a deck brush, then rinse it off with your garden hose.
  
• Time to pressure wash! You should be familiar with the basics of how to use your pressure washer before you begin – read the instructions in the user manual before you begin if you aren’t.
  
• Stand around 2ft from the surface you’ll be washing (no less) and with a wide nozzle and a low pressure, test an inconspicuous spot first. You want to make sure you aren’t damaging the wood with your settings.
  
• Once you know you aren’t going to be causing any unwanted damage to your wood, you can begin working by spraying back and forth in even strokes. Don’t let the pressure washer stay too long in one spot – it can damage the wood!
  
• One pass should be enough! If you’re cleaning a deck and you notice standing water, it’s not a bad idea to grab a mop or old towel to soak some of those puddles up. Otherwise, you can allow your fence or deck to dry naturally in the sun!

How to Get Rid of Algae

A solution that is equal parts distilled vinegar and water should be sufficient for killing any algae that may’ve grown on your deck or fencing. A spray bottle is the easiest way to apply this solution, but you can also soak a sponge and apply it to the algae that way.

No matter which method you use, be sure to saturate the algae, let it stand for around an hour, then rinse it off.

How to Get Rid of Mold

A solution of distilled vinegar and water, combined in equal parts, should be adequate for killing most types of mold. The best way to apply this is with a spray bottle, but you can also soak a sponge and apply that way, as well. Thoroughly saturate the moldy area and allow it to dry completely (at least an hour, usually, depending on the humidity that day), then rinse the surface off and dry it completely.

For more stubborn mold outbreaks, you may want to try a commercial deck cleaner, oxygen bleach powder (sodium percarbonate), or borax. Be sure to follow package instructions when using these products, however, and make sure the ground around your fence or deck is well protected.

As a last resort, you can sand away mold that’s really taken root. Use 100-grit sandpaper and take care when sanding – you don’t want to sand away too much!

We strongly recommend you AVOID using chlorine bleach to clean your wooden fence or deck. The bleach won’t be that effective – the bleach won’t penetrate the wood effectively, and the mold will still likely come back – and it can potentially damage the wood, your lawn, and garden, and even contaminate the local water table.

Frequently Asked Questions about Cleaning Decks and Fences

Before we wrap, let’s quickly cover some common questions folks have about cleaning their wooden decks, fences, and gates.

Can I clean fences without a pressure washer?

You absolutely can! In fact, if your fence is painted, you may want to skip a pressure washer to avoid damaging the paint. It’ll take a bit more elbow grease if your fence (or deck) is particularly grimy, but the high-pressure setting on a standard garden hose nozzle should be enough to knock away most dirt.

How do I protect my deck and fencing from future mold and mildew?

Sealant is a great way to protect your outdoor wooden features from rotting away with mold and mildew. If you haven’t applied any, make sure your deck or fence is completely clean before doing so. You can also purchase a commercial cleaner like Mold Armor to help protect things.

Wrapping Up

By following this guide, you should be well on your way to cleaning up grime on your deck and fencing. You can extend some of our instructions to wooden lawn furniture, as well.

Looking for more tips to keep your lawn looking great? Head on over to our blog for tons of home care tips and tutorials. AppliancePartsPros.com is always on hand for DIY help!